Summer 2019 - Focus on Youth
From the Editor
Download PDFTime and time again we, as west-siders, hear that our greatest asset is our diversity, our people. This issue of The West View focuses on an important segment of our people – our youth.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the west side of Salt Lake City has a larger percentage of children under the age of 18, at 32.9 percent, than the city as a whole (22.5 percent).
With this large percentage of children, much of the next generation of Salt Lake City’s adults will come from west-side neighborhoods. And that means that Salt Lake City as a whole will be more diverse in the future. The University of Utah has recognized this, and that is why it has invested more money into creating pathways to higher education for west side residents through University Neighborhood Partners.
It is imperative to invest in the next generation of our capital city, through better parenting, education, nutrition, health and safety. Our community has a wealth of resources for youth and families, and this issue highlights some of them.
As Editor of The West View, I am fortunate to interact with some amazing young people in our community on a weekly basis through our West View Teen Newsroom. These teens are thoughtful, caring and creative as they come up with story ideas and write about their experiences and views on a variety of subjects.
I also had the pleasure of supervising three teens as we delivered papers, door-to-door, around the Glendale neighborhood last May. We walked until our feet hurt, but we had fun along the way, saying “hello” to friendly neighbors and admiring many of the small, quaint homes and yards in the neighborhood. The girls discovered new things about their neighborhood – like Wasatch Co-housing Community, which has been in Glendale for 20 years, and the goats that are rented out on some properties to keep the weeds down. We lamented that the Seven Peaks Waterpark was shut down, and we talked about some of the fun we’ve had there during the summer, (including the times we snuck in.)
Young people have important stories to tell and they want to feel understood and heard. Take time to listen to a young person in your life; ask them how they feel, or what matters to them. Give them tools to grow and thrive and nurture them as the precious assets they are – our future parents, teachers, workers and leaders. EMAIL:
